The reserve is located in the central highlands
of the southern part of Jordan valley. It lies between Wadi Zarqa Ma’in, the
northern border of the reserve and Wadi Shegeig the southern border of the
reserve. The western border of the reserve lies on the Dead Sea Road, which is
the lowest depression of the earth, 420 m below the sea level.

The reserve includes a system of mountains and
wadis extending from the rift valley escarpment to the Dead Sea Shores. The
Rift Valley escarpment drops abruptly from the edge of the gently undulating,
basalt-crapped highland plateau (the rain-fed wheat fields at the heart of the
ancient kingdom of Moab), with altitude and rainfall decreasing from east to
west. At the higher altitude, the escarpment terran is composed of rounded,
relatively ‘smooth’ spurs and promontories which descend gently westwards, and
which are dissected by numerous, steep but smooth-sided valleys. At the lower
altitudes, the escarpment terrain is much more broken and uneven. At all
levels, there are cliffs, but these are largest and most impressive at the
lowest altitudes, especially at the terminal gorge of Wadi Mujib just before it
reaches the Dead Sea and the area where Wadi Hidan runs through the basalt
outcrop.

The reserve is located within two Governorates:
Madaba and Kerak. A population of 128,495 inhabits Madaba. While the later is
inhabited by 202,570. Both Governorates constitute 6.57% of the total
population of Jordan. A cluster of villages surrounds the reserve location with
a total population of 14, 319.